1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer server systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to computer server systems having a modular architecture.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Consumers today embrace an expanding array of Internet applications, and businesses are jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon to take advantage of this growth. Internet Protocol (IP) services are the key to the phenomenal growth in Web hosting. Hosting, in turn, drives utilization of bandwidth supplied by the backbone network. For those who own backbone networks, the focus is about selling bandwidth—the amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. The builders of this infrastructure today control the growth of the Internet. At the heart of the infrastructure are servers, which are the engines that drive IP services.
Those who have built and operate data centers that interface to the Internet backbone network strive to provide a secure, managed, and reliable environment in which to host IP services, which they sell along with Internet bandwidth, so as to optimize profitability. But, backbone network providers have also become data center operators because they have seen that data centers sell more IP services and therefore generate even more revenue from sales of their network bandwidth.
Next generation Application Service Providers (ASPs) are writing applications to provide even more IP services. To date, e-mail is the number one selling ASP package. The growth in wireless Internet and other innovations will further expand these services. In the case of the ASP, its IP service is the revenue generator. A data center hosts the ASP's IP service, and somewhere, a backbone network provider is selling bandwidth to the data center operator.
Revenue generation is dependent on the Internet data center and its entire infrastructure. Building and operating an Internet data center is very costly. Data centers constructed today to house as many as 10,000 servers cost upwards of $150 million to build and outfit. These facilities have been proclaimed the most expensive real estate on the planet. Added to that are the operational resources required to keep a 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year data center running smoothly. Therefore, if the servers in the data centers are the engines powering IP services, it becomes very clear that every data center requires a few thousand really good, “bulletproof” engines to enhance revenue generation and help control infrastructure costs.
The servers installed in Internet data centers typically utilize more physical space and more power than they actually require to perform their tasks. These server systems are often constructed with less than optimal quality components. Many server systems have poor reliability relative to the large number of units installed, which may range from the hundreds to the thousands, and as a result have high maintenance and operational costs. With today's skyrocketing real estate costs, it is an important consideration for data centers to efficiently use the floor space available for the server systems. Moreover, server systems are generally very cumbersome and time consuming to deploy and repair, and the costs associated with the time it takes to deploy or repair a server also makes a significant impact on the bottom line for a data center operator.
Therefore, there is a need for a compact, high-density, rapidly-deployable, high-availability server system having simplified management and serviceability, and unlimited scalability. The server system would provide higher revenues for data center operators, top-of-the-line performance, and cost savings.